| If you stay on top of the news, you probably | | | | Fresh fruits are excellent snack and dessert |
| already know that obesity is the number one health | | | | substitutes. Many ideas for variety and color of |
| problem and type II diabetes is becoming epidemic | | | | snacks are in my article Making Healthy Snack |
| among US children. Yet, many parents are baffled at | | | | Choices which is too long to duplicate here. Please...if |
| how to get their children to eat more healthy foods. | | | | you want kids to like vegetables, don't use those |
| Getting children to eat healthy isn't as complicated as | | | | mushy canned ones...they have no nutrients and are |
| it first appears. By following a few healthy eating tips | | | | the most unpleasant things for a kid to eat. Almost |
| for several months to a year, children will begin to | | | | everything in cans is also available frozen and is |
| prefer healthy food choices, because that's what the | | | | simple to cook, using a microwave. Use pepper, garlic |
| body craves, anyway. The tips include healthy | | | | powder, ground dill or basil for added flavor with no |
| choices, variety, color, avoiding junk food and...very | | | | salt. Also, use variety in preparation methods by |
| important, do-it-yourself instructions. | | | | going from stir-fry, to baked, to BBQ, etc. The very |
| Make Healthy Food Choices: Controlling food choices | | | | changes in texture, color and flavor of foods gives |
| is essential for children to begin eating healthy. Food | | | | kids an appreciation for the natural flavors of healthy |
| choices don't have to be controlled in the home if | | | | foods. |
| they are controlled at the supermarket, cafeteria and | | | | Eating Healthy Saves Time And Money: Many people |
| restaurant. If only this tip were used, children would | | | | have the misconception that eating healthy is |
| be far healthier than they are today. If it doesn't get | | | | expensive and takes a lot of time. In my personal |
| into the basket, it doesn't come home. If it doesn't | | | | experience doing both, preparing healthy foods is no |
| come home, it can't be eaten there. Simply by | | | | more time-consuming than preparing unhealthy foods. |
| choosing low fat, non fat, sugar free, and fresh, | | | | In fact, most recipes are faster and easier to |
| unprocessed foods, you can deal a death blow to | | | | prepare, and there's no driving or waiting in line for |
| obesity. "But my son won't drink diet soda." Fine, | | | | the prepared foods. Time is just an excuse! As far as |
| there's the water faucet! Which one of you is | | | | cost goes, well, there's a huge difference. Eating |
| responsible for his health? "But my daughter's school | | | | healthy is far less expensive. The average family |
| serves processed food meals for lunch." Give her no | | | | could save at least 75% of their food budget if they |
| lunch money...Send her with a bag lunch...if they insist | | | | switched to fresh meats, fruits and vegetables and |
| she eat their lunch, find a more flexible school or one | | | | eliminated the prepared snacks and meals. Anyone |
| that serves only healthy food choices. You can | | | | can do this and improve the health practices of their |
| always make ice cream or cake an occasional treat, | | | | children. All it takes is the decision to change and the |
| but if someone is loading your child up every day on | | | | discipline to stick to it. |
| sugars, fats and salts, they are literally poisoning and | | | | Do It Yourself-Avoiding Junk Food: You may have |
| addicting the child to things that will destroy their | | | | noticed I talk a lot about preparing this and cooking |
| health. | | | | that. That's because one of the healthy eating |
| One 4-year-old I knew naturally preferred vegetables | | | | practices every child should learn is the practice of |
| over everything else. Her mother forced her to eat | | | | doing it yourself. By doing the cooking yourself, you |
| pork chops like mine forced me to eat spinach. If | | | | set the example that it can be done...you don't have |
| your child naturally prefers things that are healthy, | | | | to bring your meal home already cooked from the |
| don't fight it. You can find creative ways to add | | | | store or restaurant. Doing it yourself puts you in |
| foods like soy beans, nuts and beans that are high in | | | | charge of the amount of salt, fat, carbohydrates and |
| proteins. Don't fight success! Don't accept failure, | | | | proteins in your foods. It's much healthier! Also, one |
| either. Another family I knew had the mother | | | | of the things that makes food interesting is cooking |
| scurrying to meet every tiny food preference the | | | | it. If your kids get to take part in the preparation, |
| children had. It turned out that the only thing all of | | | | they have a vested interest in eating the foods. You |
| them liked was pizza, beef (especially hamburgers), | | | | can't do that with dinner-in-a-box. |
| cheese, corn and ice cream. Needless to say, the | | | | When we talk about using "do-it-yourself" to aim |
| whole family struggles with weight issues. The tip of | | | | your kids toward eating healthy, there is one tip that |
| making healthy food choices is only successful if you | | | | outweighs all others. If you want your kids to eat |
| use the discipline to make those healthy choices | | | | healthy, do it yourself. You can't eat ice cream and |
| consistently. Skipping back and forth can't be an | | | | tell them it's only for grown-ups. While puffing on a |
| option if your aim is to teach your children to make | | | | cigarette, my Dad told us never to smoke "It's a |
| healthy food choices. | | | | filthy habit." I'll bet you know how that turned |
| Use Variety In Texture, Flavor And Color: One of the | | | | out...four out of five of his children smoked. If you |
| most helpful tips in aiming kids toward healthy foods | | | | want your kids to eat healthy, set the example by |
| is to use a variety. Young children are attracted to | | | | eating healthy, yourself. |
| bright primary colors, which is one of the reasons | | | | Of course, where kids are concerned, there is no |
| yellow corn is popular. I didn't like salad as a kid, but it | | | | guarantee, but the vast majority of children will eat |
| was always the same...iceberg lettuce and | | | | healthy if their parents make healthy food choices, |
| tomatoes...on Thanksgiving we got croutons. There | | | | use variety, plan and prepare the meals, and provide |
| are so many beautiful colors and interesting flavors in | | | | a healthy eating example in their choices. The bottom |
| the vegetable section, there is no reason to use one | | | | line in most cases, childhood obesity isn't an epidemic... |
| boring recipe over and over. Fruits are naturally | | | | it's a choice. Choose health! |
| colorful, full of many nutrients and unprocessed sugar. | | | | |